Instrumentation: Soprano and English horn (or alto flute, clarinet, cello or viola)
Also available for Mezzo with the same choice of the instruments above
Duration: 4:20
Premiere: 11/7/87
Grey Hills Ensemble
University of Alabama,
Birmingham, AL
Soprano & English Horn | Soprano & Viola | Mezzo & English Horn | Purchase Music
Program Note:
Come Live with Me (formerly called Wedding Song), is a setting of verses from Christopher Marlowe’s A Passionate Shepherd to His Love. This love poetry, written in 1599, speaks across the years and inspired a lyrical melody with a yearning quality, with the voice and instrument intertwining in contrapuntal play. The original version was scored for soprano and English Horn, with additional instrumental parts now available, as in this version for viola. Other options include alto flute, clarinet, bassoon, alto sax, violin, viola and cello. it is also available for mezzo with a variety of instrumental combinations. Come Live with Me has been performed both in concert settings and at weddings. For additional information visit www.judithshatin.com. –JS
Verses from A Passionate Shepherd to His Love
By Christopher Marlowe
Come live with me and be my Love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That hills and valleys, dales and fields,
And all the craggy mountains yield.
There will we sit upon the rocks,
And see the Shepherds feed their flock,
By shallow Rivers, by whose falls
Melodious birds sing Madrigals.
There will I make thee a bed of Roses,
With a thousand fragrant poses,
A cap of flowers, and a Kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of Myrtle.
A belt of straw and ivy buds,
With Coral Clasps and amber studs,
And if there pleasures may thee move,
Then live with me, and be my Love.